So overall today was a very cool day.
Once Scott, Stacy, the kids (Vicki and Zoe), and I arrived in DC and got to the Mall, where the Book Festival was being held, we headed to the "Fiction and Fantasy Pavilion," in time to catch the talk being given by Diana Gabaldon, a favorite auther of Stacy's.
While she was talking we found out that one of the booths selling books was already sold out of her new book, but that there were still some at the other booth. So Scott and I ducked out to go grab a copy for Stacy.
While we were there, we each grabbed a copy of "Anansi Boys," Neil Gaiman's new book. Once we saw what the line was like just to pay for books, Scott handed me his copy and asked if I could pay for both of them while he went off in search of Stacy's book. He started to dig for money, but I told him I'd get it for him as a belated birthday present.
I got in line behind a family that was buying a bunch of Neil Gaiman books, and a pretty young girl buying a copy of “Anansi Boys” got in line behind me and commented on the fact that I was buying two.
Slowly but surely the line moved along, and somewhere along the line the cute girl buying the copy of “Anansi Boys” was replaced by some sort of hideous changeling.
Not that it really mattered because, Virginia’s legal age of consent notwithstanding, she was far too young.
While I was waiting in line I noticed that one of the tables had a stack of “Everyday Italian,” the cookbook written by Giada De Laurentis, aka the oft-mentioned crazy, hot Italian chick.
Since I was already in a book-buying mode, I thought, “Why not?” and grabbed a copy.
Eventually I made it as far the roped-off area where the line was actually supposed to form, and as I moved through the queue with all of the other people I found the whole thing evocative of cattle on the killing floor being led to slaughter.
Once I got to a register I had to wait a bit longer while two cashiers tried to straighten out the cash drawer. They apologized several times. I said it was no problem, and thought about how the minor inconvenience of having to wait for them to get things squared away was nothing compared to what would be waiting at the end of the line if I had actually been in the abattoir of my imaging while I waited in line…
Once I got out Scott was waiting for me and we headed back to the Fiction and Fantasy Pavilion to try to snag seats before Gaiman started.
While we were there, it occurred to me that they were pretty much only selling books by authors who were actually at the Festival, which meant that crazy, hot Italian chick might be there.
At the F&F Pavilion we confirmed that when Scott saw her picture in a copy of the Washington Post’s guide to the event that some lady was holding.
Unfortunately, her book signing was going on right at that moment, and was actually nearly over, so there was no way for me to get over to it in time.
That was kind of disappointing, but it was my own fault. After all, knowing that Gaiman would be there, I hadn’t bothered looking to see who else was actually going to be at the event. If I had bothered, I would have known Giada would be there and planned accordingly.
Worse, while she was actually giving her talk after her signing, it was at the same time as Neil’s signing.
The author who was speaking at the time wrapped things up, and Scott and I were able to move into the pavilion, but we weren’t able to get seats.
The next author up, and the one preceding Neil, was John Irving. His talk was set up to be like a pseudo-interview by someone from the Post. While she was going through the introduction, I was talking to Scott when someone tapped me on the shoulder and say, “Excuse me.”
I turned and saw a very cute young woman who said, “Can you talk after, please?”
I said of course and apologized, and found myself amused at the tremendous irony that can be found in the fact that I, of all people, had been told to be quiet.
After Irving finished and his fans trickled out, Scott and I managed to snag some seats.
Soon Neil came out and began talking.
I won’t bother trying to report too much of what he said, as I would fail to do justice to just how charming, funny, and engaging he was. The half hour he had to speak flew by all too quickly.
At the start of it, he mentioned that he didn’t have enough time to do much of a reading, so there was some debate as to whether he should bother or not. He noted, however, that the decision was made for him by the fact that he didn’t actually have a book with him.
As he mentioned, that, though, a girl rushed towards the stage with her copy of “Anansi Boys,” which he later used to give a brief reading before returning the book to the very excited girl who was sure to have a great story to tell her friends.
The book is based on West African folklore about the spider-god Anansi, a trickster god whose stories made their way to America, after a species transformation, in the form of “Brer Rabbit.”
After he finished speaking there was only 50 minutes until he began signing, so we made our way over. Stacy was still in line to get some of her books signed. Scott had found that the book she wanted was totally sold out, but she did have some others to have signed. In the meantime, I headed over to get in the Neil Gaiman line…which at that point, more than a half an hour before he was scheduled to start signing, stretched back about a block and halfway back again.
Shortly afterwards Scott arrived, and wasn’t long before Stacy did as well, after having gotten her books signed (Given her position in line when Scott saw her, there was some concern that she might not, which, given that she hadn’t been able to get the book she wanted, would have really sucked).
Even though Neil started signing a bit ahead of schedule, it was clear that we weren’t going to be getting to the head of the line anytime soon, so I opted to duck out for a while and head over to where Giada was speaking.
I have to say that she looks even hotter (and not quite so crazy) in person. Because she really didn’t have too much to say, she opened things up for questions fairly early on, and I actually found myself approaching the microphone.
I have to admit that it was pretty daunting, and I’ll also add that I hate microphones, as I never know how close is too close, so when I first spoke I was assaulted by the too-loud sound of my own voice.
She was actually very gracious, and my question got a laugh from her and most everyone present (there was a surprisingly big crowd).
Presumably there will be a Webcast put up at the Book Festival site, so check it out and look for me (my question is about halfway through).
After that, it was back in line for another hour and a half.
By the time we got up to Neil it was obvious he was pretty worn out. Between the traveling he’s been doing (and has ahead of him on his American and “bits of Canada” book tour) and signing books for hours, he must have been exhausted.
The limit was three books per person, so I had him sign “Anansi Boys,” “Season of Mists,” and “Brief Lives.”
While in line, the Barnes & Noble employees facilitating things came around giving people post-its on which to write our names and what we’d like for him to write in our books. I couldn’t think of anything in particular, so I simply suggested “Something clever,” “Something else clever,” and “Something extremely clever.”
Of course, when the time came, I said that they were merely suggestions and that the rest was up to him.
In “Anansi Boys,” Neil built in a message for book signings on the dedication page, which he simply personalized by writing the person’s name.
In “Brief Lives” he wrote “Jon – Dream,” and signed his name. Given that dreams are the primary focus of the entire “Sandman” series, it was a suitable exhortation and dedication.
In “Season of Mists” he provided a quick sketch of Dream Himself – The Sandman. It was very cool.
I didn’t really say much to him, other than to thank him for signing, and to note that “Brief Lives” is my favorite story arc.
While Scott was getting his books signed, Neil noticed Stacy, her pregnant belly, and her two kids and was appalled that she’d had to wait in line. He told all the employees nearby that pregnant women should be immediately moved to the front of the line, and he apologized to Stacy for the inconvenience.
Once we finished with the signing we started to make our way out of DC. We stopped at a Popeyes to get some food for the drive back, and while we were there we were treated to lousy customer service and were accosted by a guy who, according to Stacy, was wearing nice, expensive shoes, who was looking for a handout so that he could “buy some chicken,” though by “chicken” I think he probably meant “malt liquor.”
Once we got out of DC it was a pretty uneventful trip back to Manassas, where I got in my car and headed home, and Scott and Stacy headed off to their destination for the evening.
I found it kind of funny that the timing was such that I was driving along my usual route home from work at about the same time I would be heading home on a Saturday night.
And then I was home, and despite the fact that I don’t have to work tomorrow, having no other plans for my Saturday night, I was forced to spend it with you losers….umm, I mean, because there’s nowhere else I’d rather be and nothing I’d rather do, I chose to spend my Saturday night with the best people on earth: people who read Threshold!
In any case, that will do it for this entry. I’ll be back at some point with some of the crappy pictures I took to further document my day.
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Friday, September 23, 2005
Horny Dwarves, A Gamut Of Horniness, And A Special Edition That Makes Me Sort Of Horny
I had forgotten how much more traffic there is at 5:30 in the morning than at 4:30, so that was an unwelcome side-effect of sleeping in this morning.
My one day at work was surprisingly quiet and uneventful. That’s surprising because Fridays are typically our busiest days, and I was working what is usually our busiest station (and it’s typically especially busy when I’m working it because I just seem to have bad karma in that regard).
My drive home was a little irritating, as there seemed to be about 5,000 more cars on the road than usual, though my mood was bolstered slightly by the thought that I’ll be meeting Neil Gaiman tomorrow and that I won’t have to go back to work for a week.
As was pointed out in the comments to my post, “Threshold” features a “horny dwarf.”
Of course, I’m referring to the show “Threshold,” not the blog, because while I may be short, I don’t quite fall into the dwarf category.
But yes, there is a horny dwarf and he’s very entertaining, and, given that he has the hots for Molly (Carla Gugino), it seems that he and I have something in common.
The best scene with him took place in Molly’s bedroom after the team of investigators she leads had come to her aid when she was attacked by one of the aliens. She’s giving a statement to someone and glances at the dwarf. She looks at his hands and says, “Is that my underwear?”
He looks a bit uncomfortable, then quitely says, “Yes.”
“Well put them down.”
Abashed, he complies.
A dwarf after my own heart…
In any case, how can you not want to watch a show that has a horny, degenerate dwarf?
Speaking of shows I watch, I tend to watch “Food Network” quite a bit these days, and I’m finding that the shows I do watch make me run a gamut of emotions.
For example, “Everyday Italian,” with the crazy, hot Italian chick, makes me feel a little bit scared (and horny).
“30 Minute Meals,” with Rachael Ray and her constant repetition (Yes, dammit, I know that you can pop a lemon or lime in the microwave for ten seconds to “get the juices flowing!” You’ve only told me that a thousand times!), irritating mannerisms (Your mouth is too wide; stop smiling so damn much!), and “witty” expressions and plays on words (“I call it ‘stoup’ because it’s thicker than soup but thinner than stew!”), makes me feel annoyed (and, I will admit, horny).
There’s another show that I sometimes watch called “How to Boil Water,” featuring a gay/metrosexual chef and his female co-host, who tries to be a low-rent Kelly Ripa and who makes jokes that the chef doesn’t get (though he still laughs because even though he doesn’t get it he knows that they’re supposed to be funny), which makes me feel slightly amused (and, because the Kelly-wannabe is sort of cute, horny).
Finally, there’s a show called, “Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee,” which I watch much less frequently. It seems clear that Sandra Lee has no children, but really, really should have some so that she can do something with her out of control nesting instinct. She frequently “borrows” her nieces and nephews to serve as her surrogate children, and given her obsession with table settings and dinner party themes, she strikes me as the type who makes her pets wear little outfits.
It came as no surprise to me on one episode when she began talking about the work she did with the pep squad in high school because she’s exactly that kind of woman; a perky, blond, “Stepford Wife” of a former head cheerleader whose life didn’t turn out the way she expected it to, and so she throws herself into doilies and cookies with little phrases written on them with edible ink and all manner of useless shit.
As much as she smiles, and she smiles a lot, she looks like she’s totally dead inside and her life, as pretty and well-decorated as it may be, is completely and utterly empty, and it just makes me kind of sad (and horny).
Okay, so maybe it’s not really a gamut of emotions, and I’ll admit there is a particular commonality among them all, since all of the women are at least somewhat attractive, but I thought it was worth mentioning here.
It seems strange to not be sleeping right now, and to think that I don’t have to get up ridiculously early tomorrow morning.
Of course, it seems even stranger to think that I’m actually going to do something with at least some of my time off.
EarlyThreshold Gift-Giving Ideas Dept.
In other Carla Gugino-related news, a few weeks ago, as I was nearly 100% certain there would be, I discovered that there will be a “special edition” DVD of “Sin City” that will have considerably more in the way of extras than the rather bare-bones DVD that was released recently.
Along with various extras, the multiple-disc set will contain separate versions of the movie: the theatrical version and the director’s cut.
Now I knew I was taking my chances when I bought the first release, and it was my intention to just buy the first version and whatever special edition came out later, but I didn’t realize at the time that the special edition would be contain both.
Of course, I will end up still buying the special edition, which will include a full copy of “The Hard Goodbye,” one of the graphic novels adapted in the movie.
That is, unless some kind, thoughtful Threshold reader were to feel the spirit of the season and buy it for me…
(It goes on sale December 13th)
In any case, it has been a long day and, working or not, tomorrow will likely prove to be long as well, so I think that will do it for this special Friday entry.
My one day at work was surprisingly quiet and uneventful. That’s surprising because Fridays are typically our busiest days, and I was working what is usually our busiest station (and it’s typically especially busy when I’m working it because I just seem to have bad karma in that regard).
My drive home was a little irritating, as there seemed to be about 5,000 more cars on the road than usual, though my mood was bolstered slightly by the thought that I’ll be meeting Neil Gaiman tomorrow and that I won’t have to go back to work for a week.
As was pointed out in the comments to my post, “Threshold” features a “horny dwarf.”
Of course, I’m referring to the show “Threshold,” not the blog, because while I may be short, I don’t quite fall into the dwarf category.
But yes, there is a horny dwarf and he’s very entertaining, and, given that he has the hots for Molly (Carla Gugino), it seems that he and I have something in common.
The best scene with him took place in Molly’s bedroom after the team of investigators she leads had come to her aid when she was attacked by one of the aliens. She’s giving a statement to someone and glances at the dwarf. She looks at his hands and says, “Is that my underwear?”
He looks a bit uncomfortable, then quitely says, “Yes.”
“Well put them down.”
Abashed, he complies.
A dwarf after my own heart…
In any case, how can you not want to watch a show that has a horny, degenerate dwarf?
Speaking of shows I watch, I tend to watch “Food Network” quite a bit these days, and I’m finding that the shows I do watch make me run a gamut of emotions.
For example, “Everyday Italian,” with the crazy, hot Italian chick, makes me feel a little bit scared (and horny).
“30 Minute Meals,” with Rachael Ray and her constant repetition (Yes, dammit, I know that you can pop a lemon or lime in the microwave for ten seconds to “get the juices flowing!” You’ve only told me that a thousand times!), irritating mannerisms (Your mouth is too wide; stop smiling so damn much!), and “witty” expressions and plays on words (“I call it ‘stoup’ because it’s thicker than soup but thinner than stew!”), makes me feel annoyed (and, I will admit, horny).
There’s another show that I sometimes watch called “How to Boil Water,” featuring a gay/metrosexual chef and his female co-host, who tries to be a low-rent Kelly Ripa and who makes jokes that the chef doesn’t get (though he still laughs because even though he doesn’t get it he knows that they’re supposed to be funny), which makes me feel slightly amused (and, because the Kelly-wannabe is sort of cute, horny).
Finally, there’s a show called, “Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee,” which I watch much less frequently. It seems clear that Sandra Lee has no children, but really, really should have some so that she can do something with her out of control nesting instinct. She frequently “borrows” her nieces and nephews to serve as her surrogate children, and given her obsession with table settings and dinner party themes, she strikes me as the type who makes her pets wear little outfits.
It came as no surprise to me on one episode when she began talking about the work she did with the pep squad in high school because she’s exactly that kind of woman; a perky, blond, “Stepford Wife” of a former head cheerleader whose life didn’t turn out the way she expected it to, and so she throws herself into doilies and cookies with little phrases written on them with edible ink and all manner of useless shit.
As much as she smiles, and she smiles a lot, she looks like she’s totally dead inside and her life, as pretty and well-decorated as it may be, is completely and utterly empty, and it just makes me kind of sad (and horny).
Okay, so maybe it’s not really a gamut of emotions, and I’ll admit there is a particular commonality among them all, since all of the women are at least somewhat attractive, but I thought it was worth mentioning here.
It seems strange to not be sleeping right now, and to think that I don’t have to get up ridiculously early tomorrow morning.
Of course, it seems even stranger to think that I’m actually going to do something with at least some of my time off.
EarlyThreshold Gift-Giving Ideas Dept.
In other Carla Gugino-related news, a few weeks ago, as I was nearly 100% certain there would be, I discovered that there will be a “special edition” DVD of “Sin City” that will have considerably more in the way of extras than the rather bare-bones DVD that was released recently.
Along with various extras, the multiple-disc set will contain separate versions of the movie: the theatrical version and the director’s cut.
Now I knew I was taking my chances when I bought the first release, and it was my intention to just buy the first version and whatever special edition came out later, but I didn’t realize at the time that the special edition would be contain both.
Of course, I will end up still buying the special edition, which will include a full copy of “The Hard Goodbye,” one of the graphic novels adapted in the movie.
That is, unless some kind, thoughtful Threshold reader were to feel the spirit of the season and buy it for me…
(It goes on sale December 13th)
In any case, it has been a long day and, working or not, tomorrow will likely prove to be long as well, so I think that will do it for this special Friday entry.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Everybody Stinks
I never really believed people when they told me that I would notice a significant change in my sense of smell after I quit smoking, but when I did quit and found that a whole new world of olfactory sensation had been opened to me I was forced to admit that I was wrong.
I just never realized quite how much my sense of smell had been dulled by the years of smoking.
Of course, the problem I encountered once my sense of smell became almost superhuman in comparison to how it had been is that everybody stinks.
There is the standard problem of body odor, but beyond that I’ve noticed how many people have bad breath, some of them to the extent that it clings to them, surrounding them as if have their own personal atmosphere.
And the problem with bad breath is that it seems impossible to mask it in any significant fashion. A breath mint simply makes someone’s breath smell bad with a dash of mint; there is no real improvement to it.
I had noticed this problem before I quit smoking, but it’s become more evident since I quit.
Given the seeming prevalence of halitosis, what I’m probably noticing is simply the natural, normal odor of people in a way that I never noticed before, and maybe it’s just me that finds it so repellant given that I spend so much of my time alone and am therefore less accustomed to it.
On the flip side, I’m sure that I probably account for more than my fair share of unpleasant aromas, though I do try do what I can to limit the unpleasantness with deodorants and so forth.
Of course, that wasn’t the case this morning when I went for my walk, as I hadn’t yet brushed my teeth.
Our senses of smells and taste are very closely tied together, so using descriptions of scents to describe flavors, and vice versa, is actually a fairly valid practice.
That being said, this morning as I was walking, I noticed that my mouth tasted like an outhouse. I pity anyone who might have gotten in the path of my breath.
That had to be the worst case of the “zactlies” I’ve had since I quit drinking.
(For those of you who may not know, the “zactlies” refers to the circumstance in which your mouth tastes ‘zactly like your ass)
In any case, I suppose that if there’s any point to this it’s simply that we all stink, which is hardly a new observation…
This morning after I got back from my walk and had brushed my teeth, I was sitting at my computer minding my own business when I was suddenly assaulted by a shrill, ear-splitting sound.
Bear in mind that “sitting at my computer minding my own business” typically means “sitting at my computer watching porn,” so when I heard that obnoxious noise I thought, “Oh crap; it’s the porn police!”
Then I realized that, for the time being at least, there is no such thing as “porn police,” and that the sound I was hearing was, in fact, my fire alarm.
And not just my fire alarm, but every fire alarm in the building.
Recognizing that there probably was no fire, I took my time grabbing my shoes and keys, and, as I knew it would take a while before it could be determined conclusively that this was a false alarm and for the alarm to be shut off, I opted to grab my wallet as well and take the opportunity to drive over to Safeway to gas up before the price of gas goes up again.
After filling up my tank I drove around at random for a little while until I decided that it would be safe to go home again, and soon I was home and back to sitting at the computer minding my own business…
This weekend will find me being extremely lazy.
Because I’m not going in to work on Saturday and Sunday, it’s pretty much guaranteed that I won’t be working out on those days, and since I won’t be working out on those days, I decided that I won’t bother working out tomorrow, either.
So tomorrow I get to sleep in…until 5 AM, at any rate.
Of course, for you, the loyal Threshold reader, the most significant thing about my taking time off is that you will be treated to rare weekend entries! Won’t that be exciting?
Oh wait, I phrased that wrong. What I meant to say is that won’t be exciting.
In any case, I’ll likely be posting something tomorrow night, and of course I will be sure to tell you all about the Neil Gaiman signing on Saturday.
I just never realized quite how much my sense of smell had been dulled by the years of smoking.
Of course, the problem I encountered once my sense of smell became almost superhuman in comparison to how it had been is that everybody stinks.
There is the standard problem of body odor, but beyond that I’ve noticed how many people have bad breath, some of them to the extent that it clings to them, surrounding them as if have their own personal atmosphere.
And the problem with bad breath is that it seems impossible to mask it in any significant fashion. A breath mint simply makes someone’s breath smell bad with a dash of mint; there is no real improvement to it.
I had noticed this problem before I quit smoking, but it’s become more evident since I quit.
Given the seeming prevalence of halitosis, what I’m probably noticing is simply the natural, normal odor of people in a way that I never noticed before, and maybe it’s just me that finds it so repellant given that I spend so much of my time alone and am therefore less accustomed to it.
On the flip side, I’m sure that I probably account for more than my fair share of unpleasant aromas, though I do try do what I can to limit the unpleasantness with deodorants and so forth.
Of course, that wasn’t the case this morning when I went for my walk, as I hadn’t yet brushed my teeth.
Our senses of smells and taste are very closely tied together, so using descriptions of scents to describe flavors, and vice versa, is actually a fairly valid practice.
That being said, this morning as I was walking, I noticed that my mouth tasted like an outhouse. I pity anyone who might have gotten in the path of my breath.
That had to be the worst case of the “zactlies” I’ve had since I quit drinking.
(For those of you who may not know, the “zactlies” refers to the circumstance in which your mouth tastes ‘zactly like your ass)
In any case, I suppose that if there’s any point to this it’s simply that we all stink, which is hardly a new observation…
This morning after I got back from my walk and had brushed my teeth, I was sitting at my computer minding my own business when I was suddenly assaulted by a shrill, ear-splitting sound.
Bear in mind that “sitting at my computer minding my own business” typically means “sitting at my computer watching porn,” so when I heard that obnoxious noise I thought, “Oh crap; it’s the porn police!”
Then I realized that, for the time being at least, there is no such thing as “porn police,” and that the sound I was hearing was, in fact, my fire alarm.
And not just my fire alarm, but every fire alarm in the building.
Recognizing that there probably was no fire, I took my time grabbing my shoes and keys, and, as I knew it would take a while before it could be determined conclusively that this was a false alarm and for the alarm to be shut off, I opted to grab my wallet as well and take the opportunity to drive over to Safeway to gas up before the price of gas goes up again.
After filling up my tank I drove around at random for a little while until I decided that it would be safe to go home again, and soon I was home and back to sitting at the computer minding my own business…
This weekend will find me being extremely lazy.
Because I’m not going in to work on Saturday and Sunday, it’s pretty much guaranteed that I won’t be working out on those days, and since I won’t be working out on those days, I decided that I won’t bother working out tomorrow, either.
So tomorrow I get to sleep in…until 5 AM, at any rate.
Of course, for you, the loyal Threshold reader, the most significant thing about my taking time off is that you will be treated to rare weekend entries! Won’t that be exciting?
Oh wait, I phrased that wrong. What I meant to say is that won’t be exciting.
In any case, I’ll likely be posting something tomorrow night, and of course I will be sure to tell you all about the Neil Gaiman signing on Saturday.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Writing With Light Or Mostly Uneventful Couple Of Days
Given the significant role they play in my life, both personally and professionally, it really comes as no surprise that computers tend to be the biggest source of frustration and irritation for me.
Well, okay, maybe second biggest source.
In any case, as was so well-illustrated by the DVD burner mess last week, computer troubles figure prominently in events that come close to driving me over the edge.
Of course, in a sort of double-edged sword situation, it’s equally self-evident that computers tend to be the biggest source of what passes for happiness in my life.
For example, the new DVD burner has a feature known as “LightScribe,” which allows you, when using special discs, to use the burner itself to laser-etch designs directly on the disc surface.
So when I went to Wal-Mart I picked up some LightScribe CDs and DVDs and I played around a little with the labeling. I have to say that it’s pretty cool.
It’d be cooler if they could add color to the equation. If they ever do, odds are it would only take a firmware upgrade to the burner to get it to work, since the dye is actually in the media, but in the meantime it’s still a cool feature.
It is pretty damn slow, though.
The fact that my old burner died on me sort of accelerated my timeline for making new computer purchases. It’s been my intention to build myself a new system sometime next year, with some incremental purchases along the way. I bought the burner ahead of schedule, as I had planned for that to be one of the last components I purchased.
Since I have bought it, though, I’ve been thinking about stepping up the timetable a little more.
Mostly I’m thinking about buying a new case and just transferring everything over to it, and then gradually replacing the internal components. A case is a relatively low-cost component, so it’d be an easy purchase to make. Given that I already have a 250 GB external drive, the new system would be able to get buy fine with my current internal HD, leaving only a new motherboard and CPU and a graphics card. I’ll probably recycle the RAM from my current system, but be sure to get a motherboard with four slots so that I can more easily bump up the RAM.
I figure that if I buy a decent case that I like I can just keep up a process of incremental upgrades and have a top-of-the-line system for years to come.
And in the meantime, a snazzy new case should tide me over until I can make the bigger purchases.
I’ve kind of lost my enthusiasm for buying a Tablet PC. I still want one, but I’m just not willing to shell out the money at this point.
Of course, there are all kinds of other things I could be spending my money on, if I’m going to spend it at all, but, again, because of their prominence in my life, it’s hard to force myself to spend money on things that aren’t related to computers.
For example, I could really use a new bed, but I can’t bring myself to shell out the money for one. After all, it’s just a bed. And the problem isn’t just that the bed wouldn’t have any kind of cool new features like a dual-core processor. I mean, I could get one of those “sleep number” beds if I absolutely had to feed my gadget needs, but no matter how you dress it up, it will still be my bed, which is to say that it’ll never see any action.
Inasmuch as its only function would be to provide me a place to sleep, it could just as easily be a pile of dirty laundry on the floor.
Of course, there are actual gadgets that I want, but am unwilling to pony up the cash for, like an HDTV.
The main problem there is just how expensive it is, given that most HDTVs, particularly this 37” LCD I was looking at online over the weekend, can do double-duty as monster computer monitors.
That would be cool, but it’s hard to justify the expense, considering that the cheapest I was able to find that LCD for ($1,700) is enough to build a pretty kick-ass computer.
And of course the main non-computer-related item I want is going to remain totally out of reach until the housing bubble finally bursts around here, and even if/when it does, the cost of a home probably still won’t dip low enough for me to be able to afford one.
So I guess the bed, the TV, the house, and all of the other things I want will have to continue to wait. The new case, however, may be another matter entirely.
As is apparent from my mention of going out to Wal-Mart, Tuesday morning found me venturing out into the world, unlike Monday, which found me too lazy to even go for a walk.
The day started with my six-month dental check-up, which seems kind of silly, given how often I go to the dentist anyway.
In any case, the parking lot at the complex of various health-related offices where my dentist’s office is located was filled almost to overflowing. Evidently the people of Ashburn were not having a good health day.
Once inside the building I found myself walking behind a woman of indeterminate age. She looked like she could be fairly young and have a decent figure, but she was wearing old lady clothes that made it difficult to get a very good idea of her age or shape.
As she veered off to the ladies’ restroom I got a better look at her, and saw that she was young and attractive, though the caustic glare and frown she shot in my direction didn’t exactly accentuate her good looks.
While I was waiting in the dentist’s office she came in and walked past me, shooting me another dirty look, and I realized that she was the new girl with the big boobs that I had seen working at the office a while back. I noticed this time that the ring check I had performed at that time had been off by a finger, so it appears that she may be single (or at least unmarried), though based on the looks she gave me, I don’t think that improves my chances any.
The check-up itself was pretty routine. My partial hadn’t arrived yet, so I still have to wait on that.
From the dentist’s office I went to Wal-Mart, with my next stop being the grocery store, then I would be home. After leaving Wal-Mart I realized that if I didn’t got anywhere else, I would have likely been home and totally finished with my day before 12:30, and somehow that just seemed incredibly pathetic.
So, in an effort to avoid being pathetic, I did the only thing I could think of: I went to the mall.
I realized very quickly that it was a wasted trip, though, so I headed to the grocery store, and was home, my day finished, by 1.
Once I got home I engaged in the aforementioned playing around with the LightScribe thing.
And that was pretty much my day.
Apart from making the plans to go to DC on Saturday (I also opted to take Sunday off while I was at it, basically just for the sheer hell of it), not much has gone on today.
It’s actually been a pretty uneventful few days, even by my standards, so I think that will do it for this entry.
Well, okay, maybe second biggest source.
In any case, as was so well-illustrated by the DVD burner mess last week, computer troubles figure prominently in events that come close to driving me over the edge.
Of course, in a sort of double-edged sword situation, it’s equally self-evident that computers tend to be the biggest source of what passes for happiness in my life.
For example, the new DVD burner has a feature known as “LightScribe,” which allows you, when using special discs, to use the burner itself to laser-etch designs directly on the disc surface.
So when I went to Wal-Mart I picked up some LightScribe CDs and DVDs and I played around a little with the labeling. I have to say that it’s pretty cool.
It’d be cooler if they could add color to the equation. If they ever do, odds are it would only take a firmware upgrade to the burner to get it to work, since the dye is actually in the media, but in the meantime it’s still a cool feature.
It is pretty damn slow, though.
The fact that my old burner died on me sort of accelerated my timeline for making new computer purchases. It’s been my intention to build myself a new system sometime next year, with some incremental purchases along the way. I bought the burner ahead of schedule, as I had planned for that to be one of the last components I purchased.
Since I have bought it, though, I’ve been thinking about stepping up the timetable a little more.
Mostly I’m thinking about buying a new case and just transferring everything over to it, and then gradually replacing the internal components. A case is a relatively low-cost component, so it’d be an easy purchase to make. Given that I already have a 250 GB external drive, the new system would be able to get buy fine with my current internal HD, leaving only a new motherboard and CPU and a graphics card. I’ll probably recycle the RAM from my current system, but be sure to get a motherboard with four slots so that I can more easily bump up the RAM.
I figure that if I buy a decent case that I like I can just keep up a process of incremental upgrades and have a top-of-the-line system for years to come.
And in the meantime, a snazzy new case should tide me over until I can make the bigger purchases.
I’ve kind of lost my enthusiasm for buying a Tablet PC. I still want one, but I’m just not willing to shell out the money at this point.
Of course, there are all kinds of other things I could be spending my money on, if I’m going to spend it at all, but, again, because of their prominence in my life, it’s hard to force myself to spend money on things that aren’t related to computers.
For example, I could really use a new bed, but I can’t bring myself to shell out the money for one. After all, it’s just a bed. And the problem isn’t just that the bed wouldn’t have any kind of cool new features like a dual-core processor. I mean, I could get one of those “sleep number” beds if I absolutely had to feed my gadget needs, but no matter how you dress it up, it will still be my bed, which is to say that it’ll never see any action.
Inasmuch as its only function would be to provide me a place to sleep, it could just as easily be a pile of dirty laundry on the floor.
Of course, there are actual gadgets that I want, but am unwilling to pony up the cash for, like an HDTV.
The main problem there is just how expensive it is, given that most HDTVs, particularly this 37” LCD I was looking at online over the weekend, can do double-duty as monster computer monitors.
That would be cool, but it’s hard to justify the expense, considering that the cheapest I was able to find that LCD for ($1,700) is enough to build a pretty kick-ass computer.
And of course the main non-computer-related item I want is going to remain totally out of reach until the housing bubble finally bursts around here, and even if/when it does, the cost of a home probably still won’t dip low enough for me to be able to afford one.
So I guess the bed, the TV, the house, and all of the other things I want will have to continue to wait. The new case, however, may be another matter entirely.
As is apparent from my mention of going out to Wal-Mart, Tuesday morning found me venturing out into the world, unlike Monday, which found me too lazy to even go for a walk.
The day started with my six-month dental check-up, which seems kind of silly, given how often I go to the dentist anyway.
In any case, the parking lot at the complex of various health-related offices where my dentist’s office is located was filled almost to overflowing. Evidently the people of Ashburn were not having a good health day.
Once inside the building I found myself walking behind a woman of indeterminate age. She looked like she could be fairly young and have a decent figure, but she was wearing old lady clothes that made it difficult to get a very good idea of her age or shape.
As she veered off to the ladies’ restroom I got a better look at her, and saw that she was young and attractive, though the caustic glare and frown she shot in my direction didn’t exactly accentuate her good looks.
While I was waiting in the dentist’s office she came in and walked past me, shooting me another dirty look, and I realized that she was the new girl with the big boobs that I had seen working at the office a while back. I noticed this time that the ring check I had performed at that time had been off by a finger, so it appears that she may be single (or at least unmarried), though based on the looks she gave me, I don’t think that improves my chances any.
The check-up itself was pretty routine. My partial hadn’t arrived yet, so I still have to wait on that.
From the dentist’s office I went to Wal-Mart, with my next stop being the grocery store, then I would be home. After leaving Wal-Mart I realized that if I didn’t got anywhere else, I would have likely been home and totally finished with my day before 12:30, and somehow that just seemed incredibly pathetic.
So, in an effort to avoid being pathetic, I did the only thing I could think of: I went to the mall.
I realized very quickly that it was a wasted trip, though, so I headed to the grocery store, and was home, my day finished, by 1.
Once I got home I engaged in the aforementioned playing around with the LightScribe thing.
And that was pretty much my day.
Apart from making the plans to go to DC on Saturday (I also opted to take Sunday off while I was at it, basically just for the sheer hell of it), not much has gone on today.
It’s actually been a pretty uneventful few days, even by my standards, so I think that will do it for this entry.
Neil Gaiman!
Neil Gaiman is going to be at the 2005 National Book Festival in DC on Saturday.
Guess who's going?
Scott let me know this morning that he's taking the day off to head out for it and asked me if I wanted to also take the day off and head there with him and Stacy.
Naturally, I did.
So that should be cool.
Guess who's going?
Scott let me know this morning that he's taking the day off to head out for it and asked me if I wanted to also take the day off and head there with him and Stacy.
Naturally, I did.
So that should be cool.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
WTF?
Earlier today I went out into the world. Because it was close to noon and I hadn't yet eaten anything (I had a dental check-up today and had absent-mindedly brushed my teeth before eating breakfast, and didn't want to have to brush them all over again), I decided to stop at the McDonald's inside of Wal-Mart while I was there.
While I was eating, I idly looked down at my receipt and noticed this:
"Eat In Tax?" Is there a different tax if you get it to go? Why isn't it simply called "Sales Tax," or just plain "Tax?"
Ah well.
While I was eating, I idly looked down at my receipt and noticed this:
"Eat In Tax?" Is there a different tax if you get it to go? Why isn't it simply called "Sales Tax," or just plain "Tax?"
Ah well.
Monday, September 19, 2005
Threshold On "Threshold"
So I just finished watching the premiere of "Threshold."
My first impression? Not bad.
According to this little snippet of an article, it was the most watched show on Friday, which ideally will bode well for its future.
It had a pretty engaging storyline, interesting ideas, decent dialogue, the cast was good(especially Brent Spiner), the characters were interesting, and the lovely and talented Carla Gugino, as always, was smoking hot.
And of course the fact that it's her character's job to be pessimistic (she's all about preparing for "worst case scenarios") only serves to make her even more attractive to me, given who I am.
I have a few quibbles with the show, like the fairly cliche "tragic backstory" that's alluded to for Carla's character, and the fairly inept governtment agent she's working with, but overall it was decent, and I look forward to next week's episode.
So basically my take on the show is this:
Story: Good
Characters: (Mostly) Good
Brent Spiner: Glad to see him back on TV
Carla Gugino: Lovely, talented, and smoking hot
And of course, I can't help but approve of the show's title...
My first impression? Not bad.
According to this little snippet of an article, it was the most watched show on Friday, which ideally will bode well for its future.
It had a pretty engaging storyline, interesting ideas, decent dialogue, the cast was good(especially Brent Spiner), the characters were interesting, and the lovely and talented Carla Gugino, as always, was smoking hot.
And of course the fact that it's her character's job to be pessimistic (she's all about preparing for "worst case scenarios") only serves to make her even more attractive to me, given who I am.
I have a few quibbles with the show, like the fairly cliche "tragic backstory" that's alluded to for Carla's character, and the fairly inept governtment agent she's working with, but overall it was decent, and I look forward to next week's episode.
So basically my take on the show is this:
Story: Good
Characters: (Mostly) Good
Brent Spiner: Glad to see him back on TV
Carla Gugino: Lovely, talented, and smoking hot
And of course, I can't help but approve of the show's title...
Sleepless Nights, Burned By My Burner, And The God Of Rock!
On Thursday I mentioned that Scott, Brian, Chris, and I went to see “The Exorcism of Emily Rose,” and I stated that it was “pretty spooky.”
I think it would probably be a more accurate assessment of the movie to say that it scared the living crap out of us.
None of us had an especially pleasant time sleeping that night, apparently.
Without giving too much away for those of you yet to see the movie, 3 AM is a very significant (and scary) time in the movie, so the last thing any of us really wanted was to be awake at 3.
Chris found himself awake at exactly 3, and Brian woke up a bit before and realized that he wouldn’t get back to sleep in time – with the added benefit of having his cats staring at him, which also relates to a scene in the movie.
Of us all, though, I think Scott had it the worst, as he was awoken a bit after 3 by the sound of his wife screaming. Apparently she thought she had seen “something.”
So on Friday morning all of us were dragging ass thanks to are less than restful nights.
The four of us had been the only ones in the theater for the movie, as apparently not many people take in a movie at 12:45 in the afternoon on Thursday. As an aside, the theater itself, with its green vinyl seats (Without cup holders!) and their faux wood panel backing looked like something out of the 1970s.
At the movie’s start, there was an annoying light that got left on for some reason, until Scott got up and asked someone to shut it off. All things considered, maybe we should have left it on…
Because we knew we wouldn’t be disturbing anyone else, and as a defense mechanism once the movie started getting scary (a defense mechanism that didn’t work), we went all “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” busting out with all sorts of funny comments.
My favorite was probably Scott’s reference to donkey punching, though it was definitely a “you had to be there” kind of joke.
(And no, I’m not going to explain what donkey punching is)
Of my own comments, my two favorites were when Emily’s boyfriend stated that despite all of the craziness he wouldn’t trade the time he spent with Emily for anything, to which I appended, “Because demon sex is amazing!”
This was made even funnier by the fact that he kept talking about his time with her, stating that she had made him “feel things he’d never felt before,” which I followed up with “like nipple clamps and hot candle wax!”
My other favorite happened at around the same time as Scott’s “donkey punching” comment, both of which involved what we all feel was the freakiest (as determined by the fact that we all yelled “Holy Shit!” when it happened) scene in which the boyfriend wakes up to find Emily in the grip of her possession lying on the floor staring up at him, her body all twisted and contorted. Speaking for the boyfriend at that moment, I said, “I think we should see other people,” and pantomimed running the hell away.
Still, despite the laughter and the whole “whistling past the graveyard” thing in the afternoon, my night was pretty restless.
I woke up several times and fell back to sleep until about 12:30, at which point I found myself unable to get back to sleep. I got up and watched the episode of “The Daily Show” that I had recorded. I then tried to get back to sleep a couple of times without success. Eventually, sometime after 3 AM, I managed doze off for about 45 minutes.
Stupid possessed girl, keeping me up all night…
Actually, “Emily Rose” was only part of the problem, I think.
I think the real problem was that I was still kind of tense from the rage that installing my new DVD burner had built up in me.
The biggest problem, initially, at least, was getting the old drive out.
I opened the chassis up, which is easy enough with the two simple thumbscrews.
Then I removed the screws holding the drive in place and disconnected the cables hooked up to it.
So far so good.
It was at this point, though, that I realized that I couldn't slide the drive forward to get it out because the front panel was in the way and I couldn't find any way to remove it, and that if I slid the drive backwards the power supply unit would be in the way.
Turning the computer on its side, I removed the screws holding the the PSU and lifted it out of the way, then slid the drive backwards a bit. It would go so far, then no further. After a while I noticed that there were tabs on the side holding it in place, so I bent them back and the drive slid a little further.
I removed the panel on the other side, bent some other tabs, and found that it slid even further, but still not far enough.
Bear in mind that the whole time I was sweating more and more profusely, which wasn't helping matters any.
So I was stuck. I couldn't slide the drive forward because the front panel was in the way, and I couldn't slide it backwards because it would only slide so far and no further, despite my best efforts.
I was at a crossroads. One path would lead me to give up and put things back the way they were, leaving it that way over the weekend, and having Brian come help me with it during the week. The other path involved carrying the whole thing out to the balcony and smashing it against the parking lot.
Instead of taking either path I turned around and managed to find the off-ramp that I'd missed earlier in the form of the clips holding the front panel in place.
Even after having found them, though, things weren't exactly a walk in the park, as the most effective means of squeezing the clips and pulling the panel loose would have involved having, at a minimum, six hands.
Eventually, though, I managed to get the panel off and slide the drive out.
Getting the new drive into position took some work, as it was slightly longer than the old one, but eventually I lined up the holes for the screws, connected the cables, and was ready to give it a test run.
Leaving the chassis open and without a front panel, I hooked it back up and hit the power button.
Until I opened the DVD drive door the computer wouldn't boot, which was one of the problems I was having with the old drive, but once I did that Windows started up normally, informed me that there was a newer firmware version for my DVD burner, asked me if I wanted to download it, then installed it.
Success! I threw "Sin City" in and everything worked normally.
I then told it to shut down so that I could put all of the external covering back into place.
That's when my other troubles began.
In the process of shutting down, I got a blue screen, and attempting to boot up resulted in failure until I eventually got it into Safe Mode, then ran Checkdisk on it and made changes to the start up process by making the hard drive the primary boot device.
Once I got into Windows I moved the only "critical" files I have (my drawings) onto my external drive so that they're properly backed up in the event of some catastrophic system failure, which seems, at this point, to be an inevitability.
So far I’ve only tested the CD burning capabilities of the new burner, which went off without a hitch, but I still need to try burning a DVD.
The burner itself arrived packaged as thought I’d bought it out of the back of someone’s van. Apart from the shipping materials, the box contained the burner, a CD, and a cable for connecting the burner to the sound card. No manual, no registration card, no actual packaging.
As I said, I think it was the lingering affects of getting extremely angry that made my sleep so fitful that night, though the image of a possessed Emily Rose stuck in my mind didn’t help matters any.
Friday night I only lost an hour of sleep, having woken up at around 11:30 for a while. Saturday night would have been okay and mostly Emily-free, but I woke up choking about an hour after I fell asleep. I’m not sure what the problem was. There was just something irritating my throat and making me cough and choke, to the point that I was starting to gag and nearly threw up.
Eventually the irritation went away and I managed to fall asleep for most of the rest of the night. I did wake up a bit before 3, but dozed off again and slept until about 4, at which point I woke up feeling like I was having a heart attack.
Once I got up and started moving around, though, I discovered that the pains in my chest and left arm, as well as the nausea, seemed to be caused by some bizarre species of really intense hunger pains, as it all went away once I ate a banana and drank some milk.
At the very least, I didn’t drop dead while working out.
It was an unusual circumstance, but on Friday night I had managed to find a parking space in front of my building, so on Friday and Saturday morning I didn’t have much of a walk to my car. Sunday morning was another matter entirely, though. Going out the door, I had a long scary walk to my car ahead of me. Trying to remain calm and restrain my imagination, I walked over to my car, unlocked the door, and began to carefully place my gym and lunch bags inside – until I heard a door banging in the apartment building I was parked by. At that point, I just threw the bags in and jumped in after them, started up my car, and got the hell out of there.
Not everything about my weekend was scary, though. On Sunday I discovered the phenomenon that is Jon Mikl Thor. Singer! Body-Builder! “Muscle Rock” pioneer! Actor! Producer! God of Rock!
I can’t believe I had never heard of this guy before. Granted, his brand of “metal” is nothing like what I would have listened to, but I was still familiar with the existence of bands I didn’t like back in the day.
Additionally, I have a very strong appreciation for pure cheese, and Thor is about as cheesy as it gets.
Reading about him at his site provided hours of amusement for Scott and I on Sunday, though in many ways it was also very, very sad.
If nothing else, though, you have to check out the Lyrics section on his site. Shakespeare, Byron, Wordsworth, Dickinson; they’ve got nothing on Jon Mikl Thor!
I discovered that one of his movies, “Zombie Nightmare,” was once featured on the actual (as opposed our rendition of at the theater on Thursday) “Mystery Science Theater 3000.” I searched the MST3K newsgroup and found a copy of that episode, which I downloaded and watched today.
As a special bonus, the movie also featured Adam West, and a young Tia Carrere.
There’s not much good that I can say about the movie beyond the fact that Tia, as always, was hot and that it got off to a promising start with Motorhead performing their classic “The Ace of Spades.” It was all downhill from there, though, and Tia didn’t appear often enough, or, more importantly, scantily-clad enough, to make up for the rest of it .
In fairness, it was not Thor who was responsible for the majority of the groans the movie induced, but there were a hell of a lot of groans.
Saturday was Scott’s birthday, so he has officially joined me (and Brian) on the other side of the hill.
In any case, I’m going to watch the premiere of “Threshold,” which is waiting on my DVR.
I think it would probably be a more accurate assessment of the movie to say that it scared the living crap out of us.
None of us had an especially pleasant time sleeping that night, apparently.
Without giving too much away for those of you yet to see the movie, 3 AM is a very significant (and scary) time in the movie, so the last thing any of us really wanted was to be awake at 3.
Chris found himself awake at exactly 3, and Brian woke up a bit before and realized that he wouldn’t get back to sleep in time – with the added benefit of having his cats staring at him, which also relates to a scene in the movie.
Of us all, though, I think Scott had it the worst, as he was awoken a bit after 3 by the sound of his wife screaming. Apparently she thought she had seen “something.”
So on Friday morning all of us were dragging ass thanks to are less than restful nights.
The four of us had been the only ones in the theater for the movie, as apparently not many people take in a movie at 12:45 in the afternoon on Thursday. As an aside, the theater itself, with its green vinyl seats (Without cup holders!) and their faux wood panel backing looked like something out of the 1970s.
At the movie’s start, there was an annoying light that got left on for some reason, until Scott got up and asked someone to shut it off. All things considered, maybe we should have left it on…
Because we knew we wouldn’t be disturbing anyone else, and as a defense mechanism once the movie started getting scary (a defense mechanism that didn’t work), we went all “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” busting out with all sorts of funny comments.
My favorite was probably Scott’s reference to donkey punching, though it was definitely a “you had to be there” kind of joke.
(And no, I’m not going to explain what donkey punching is)
Of my own comments, my two favorites were when Emily’s boyfriend stated that despite all of the craziness he wouldn’t trade the time he spent with Emily for anything, to which I appended, “Because demon sex is amazing!”
This was made even funnier by the fact that he kept talking about his time with her, stating that she had made him “feel things he’d never felt before,” which I followed up with “like nipple clamps and hot candle wax!”
My other favorite happened at around the same time as Scott’s “donkey punching” comment, both of which involved what we all feel was the freakiest (as determined by the fact that we all yelled “Holy Shit!” when it happened) scene in which the boyfriend wakes up to find Emily in the grip of her possession lying on the floor staring up at him, her body all twisted and contorted. Speaking for the boyfriend at that moment, I said, “I think we should see other people,” and pantomimed running the hell away.
Still, despite the laughter and the whole “whistling past the graveyard” thing in the afternoon, my night was pretty restless.
I woke up several times and fell back to sleep until about 12:30, at which point I found myself unable to get back to sleep. I got up and watched the episode of “The Daily Show” that I had recorded. I then tried to get back to sleep a couple of times without success. Eventually, sometime after 3 AM, I managed doze off for about 45 minutes.
Stupid possessed girl, keeping me up all night…
Actually, “Emily Rose” was only part of the problem, I think.
I think the real problem was that I was still kind of tense from the rage that installing my new DVD burner had built up in me.
The biggest problem, initially, at least, was getting the old drive out.
I opened the chassis up, which is easy enough with the two simple thumbscrews.
Then I removed the screws holding the drive in place and disconnected the cables hooked up to it.
So far so good.
It was at this point, though, that I realized that I couldn't slide the drive forward to get it out because the front panel was in the way and I couldn't find any way to remove it, and that if I slid the drive backwards the power supply unit would be in the way.
Turning the computer on its side, I removed the screws holding the the PSU and lifted it out of the way, then slid the drive backwards a bit. It would go so far, then no further. After a while I noticed that there were tabs on the side holding it in place, so I bent them back and the drive slid a little further.
I removed the panel on the other side, bent some other tabs, and found that it slid even further, but still not far enough.
Bear in mind that the whole time I was sweating more and more profusely, which wasn't helping matters any.
So I was stuck. I couldn't slide the drive forward because the front panel was in the way, and I couldn't slide it backwards because it would only slide so far and no further, despite my best efforts.
I was at a crossroads. One path would lead me to give up and put things back the way they were, leaving it that way over the weekend, and having Brian come help me with it during the week. The other path involved carrying the whole thing out to the balcony and smashing it against the parking lot.
Instead of taking either path I turned around and managed to find the off-ramp that I'd missed earlier in the form of the clips holding the front panel in place.
Even after having found them, though, things weren't exactly a walk in the park, as the most effective means of squeezing the clips and pulling the panel loose would have involved having, at a minimum, six hands.
Eventually, though, I managed to get the panel off and slide the drive out.
Getting the new drive into position took some work, as it was slightly longer than the old one, but eventually I lined up the holes for the screws, connected the cables, and was ready to give it a test run.
Leaving the chassis open and without a front panel, I hooked it back up and hit the power button.
Until I opened the DVD drive door the computer wouldn't boot, which was one of the problems I was having with the old drive, but once I did that Windows started up normally, informed me that there was a newer firmware version for my DVD burner, asked me if I wanted to download it, then installed it.
Success! I threw "Sin City" in and everything worked normally.
I then told it to shut down so that I could put all of the external covering back into place.
That's when my other troubles began.
In the process of shutting down, I got a blue screen, and attempting to boot up resulted in failure until I eventually got it into Safe Mode, then ran Checkdisk on it and made changes to the start up process by making the hard drive the primary boot device.
Once I got into Windows I moved the only "critical" files I have (my drawings) onto my external drive so that they're properly backed up in the event of some catastrophic system failure, which seems, at this point, to be an inevitability.
So far I’ve only tested the CD burning capabilities of the new burner, which went off without a hitch, but I still need to try burning a DVD.
The burner itself arrived packaged as thought I’d bought it out of the back of someone’s van. Apart from the shipping materials, the box contained the burner, a CD, and a cable for connecting the burner to the sound card. No manual, no registration card, no actual packaging.
As I said, I think it was the lingering affects of getting extremely angry that made my sleep so fitful that night, though the image of a possessed Emily Rose stuck in my mind didn’t help matters any.
Friday night I only lost an hour of sleep, having woken up at around 11:30 for a while. Saturday night would have been okay and mostly Emily-free, but I woke up choking about an hour after I fell asleep. I’m not sure what the problem was. There was just something irritating my throat and making me cough and choke, to the point that I was starting to gag and nearly threw up.
Eventually the irritation went away and I managed to fall asleep for most of the rest of the night. I did wake up a bit before 3, but dozed off again and slept until about 4, at which point I woke up feeling like I was having a heart attack.
Once I got up and started moving around, though, I discovered that the pains in my chest and left arm, as well as the nausea, seemed to be caused by some bizarre species of really intense hunger pains, as it all went away once I ate a banana and drank some milk.
At the very least, I didn’t drop dead while working out.
It was an unusual circumstance, but on Friday night I had managed to find a parking space in front of my building, so on Friday and Saturday morning I didn’t have much of a walk to my car. Sunday morning was another matter entirely, though. Going out the door, I had a long scary walk to my car ahead of me. Trying to remain calm and restrain my imagination, I walked over to my car, unlocked the door, and began to carefully place my gym and lunch bags inside – until I heard a door banging in the apartment building I was parked by. At that point, I just threw the bags in and jumped in after them, started up my car, and got the hell out of there.
Not everything about my weekend was scary, though. On Sunday I discovered the phenomenon that is Jon Mikl Thor. Singer! Body-Builder! “Muscle Rock” pioneer! Actor! Producer! God of Rock!
I can’t believe I had never heard of this guy before. Granted, his brand of “metal” is nothing like what I would have listened to, but I was still familiar with the existence of bands I didn’t like back in the day.
Additionally, I have a very strong appreciation for pure cheese, and Thor is about as cheesy as it gets.
Reading about him at his site provided hours of amusement for Scott and I on Sunday, though in many ways it was also very, very sad.
If nothing else, though, you have to check out the Lyrics section on his site. Shakespeare, Byron, Wordsworth, Dickinson; they’ve got nothing on Jon Mikl Thor!
I discovered that one of his movies, “Zombie Nightmare,” was once featured on the actual (as opposed our rendition of at the theater on Thursday) “Mystery Science Theater 3000.” I searched the MST3K newsgroup and found a copy of that episode, which I downloaded and watched today.
As a special bonus, the movie also featured Adam West, and a young Tia Carrere.
There’s not much good that I can say about the movie beyond the fact that Tia, as always, was hot and that it got off to a promising start with Motorhead performing their classic “The Ace of Spades.” It was all downhill from there, though, and Tia didn’t appear often enough, or, more importantly, scantily-clad enough, to make up for the rest of it .
In fairness, it was not Thor who was responsible for the majority of the groans the movie induced, but there were a hell of a lot of groans.
Saturday was Scott’s birthday, so he has officially joined me (and Brian) on the other side of the hill.
In any case, I’m going to watch the premiere of “Threshold,” which is waiting on my DVR.
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